Yes, I am excited about Barack Obama's historic acceptance speech last night. And I still have the highest praise for Michelle's own speech a few days ago and look forward to the day when I can call her our First Lady.
But I feel I must devote at least one post to who I hope will be the nation's next "Second" Lady.
She is a fellow academic as well as a former mommy-ing graduate student--two statuses very near and dear to my heart. You can access the abstract and preview of the 2007 dissertation from Jill Jacobs-Biden, EdD here. From the Obama/Biden 2008 website comes this introduction:
Dr. Jill Tracy Biden (née Jacobs) was raised in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Jill is the oldest of four sisters, and the daughter of Bonnie, a stay-at-home mom, and Donald. Both her parents were born in Hammonton, New Jersey. Jill's father, who was a banker, passed away in 1999 and her mother now resides in Pennsylvania.Jill and Joe met when she was a student at the University of Delaware, an introduction arranged by Joe's brother. When Senator Biden called to ask her out, Jill made sure to mention she was not impressed with his title and that he should feel lucky that she had voted for him. At the time Joe had two sons, Beau and Hunter.
The couple dated for two years, and on June 17, 1977 were married at the United Nations chapel in New York City. Jill has said that when she married Joe, she knew she was marrying the whole family, including his two sons. Beau and Hunter joined the couple on their honeymoon.
In 1981, Joe and Jill had a daughter, Ashley. All of the children are now grown and five grandchildren - Naomi, Finnegan, Maisy, Natalie, and Hunter Biden - have been added to the family. Beau is the Attorney General of the State of Delaware. A captain in the Delaware National Guard, he is slated to go to Iraq in October. Hunter is a lawyer; and Ashley is employed as a social worker.
Jill is in her 15th year at Delaware Technical and Community College in Wilmington, teaching English composition. She also spent 13 years in the public schools, where she was a Reading specialist and English teacher as well as a part-time teacher with Rockford Psychiatric Hospital Adolescent Program.
While working full-time and raising a family, Jill earned two masters degrees: a Master's degree in English from Villanova University (1987) and a Master's degree in reading from West Chester University (1981). She graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts (1975).
This past January, Jill earned a Doctorate in Education from the University of Delaware in 2007. Her dissertation focused on how to retain students in community colleges.
When her students ask if she is related to Joe, she says he is just a relative. As she explains, she is their English teacher and wants them to view her as such, not the wife of a U.S. Senator. When she arrived home from defending her thesis, Joe had placed two signs along the driveway. One said, "Congratulations Dr. Jacobs-Biden" and the other "Dr. and Senator Biden live here."
Jill has always been active and engaged in issues that matter to her most, including healthcare. Jill had four friends with breast cancer, one of whom died, and she thought as an educator, there had to be something that she could do. In 1993, Jill started the Biden Breast Health Initiative that has educated more than 7,000 ninth-through twelfth grade girls in Delaware about proper breast health. She is also a Board member of the Literacy Volunteers of America.
Jill also is involved with Delaware Boots on the Ground, an organization she created after campaigning in the primaries and hearing all the challenges that military family members face. The group works with many whose needs existing programs are not meeting or who have fallen through the cracks.
This summer, Jill also started a program called Book Buddies to get kids reading early, starting at 4 years old. Partnering with "Ministry of Caring" day care, it targets low-income children and helps to raise money to buy books for them to read....